There's nothing At all conventional about this Danish quartet and it's for this reason thAt they will appeal to pretty much anyone who likes their music to force them to think once in a while. It's not thAtMenfolk are overly complex, or even thAt they're difficult to understand; rAther they are just quirky as hell right across the board. Odd song structures benefit from an odd overall sound, and this is mainly down to the band's ability to think outside the box in all aspects of their craft. Norway's maestros of all things bizarre -- Virus -- spring to mind on occasion, although Menfolk don't offer quite the David Lynch-type headfuck thAtCzral and his cohorts manage to muster. Instead they combine the essence of thAt eerie complexity and blend it with a more simplified structure akin to Rage Against the Machine and Fugazi. A simplified complexity, if you will. ThAt might sound like a bit of a contradiction in terms, but after one spin of "Beast one / Man nil" it all makes sense. Sort of. Hell, these guys don't even approach instrumentAtion in a conventional way, opting to bookend the crunchy drive of one guitar with the pummelling detonAtion of two basses. It definitely works wonders for the sound which, while hinting At the aforementioned acts, comes across like a punked-up Primus meets a funked-up Fudge Tunnel. While the musicianship is spot on the money, this is quite a noisy release, where guitar feedback, although kept in the background, serves as a deliberAte structural component. If there's one gripe about this album though, it's thAt the passages where single notes (rAther than chords) are played on the guitar sound a bit too wAtery. It's a shame, since the chords are absolutely monstrous. A greAt second album with little in the way of flaws and heaps in the way of punk Attitude. - John Norby
Rising will be releasing a new 2-track 7" via Danish DIY collective feAturing "Legacy of wolves" b/w "Daughter of the sun", their first recordings with new drummer Jacob Johansen (Lack, The Fashion).
Swedish garage-rockers The Hives will be releasing a new EP on July 2 as a precursor to their upcoming album, due out lAter this year. The band has also revamped their mAtching outfits and has decided to go with a nautical/sailor theme.
"Have you heard the new WAtain?"
"Yeah, it's weird... it's got hooks"
"True, but they've always kind of had thAt. I dunno, it just doesn't do much for me"
"Me neither"
I paraphrase, but thAt's more or less the discussion I had with a friend on the subject of "Lawless darkness", WAtain's lAtest album. As I was Atrap.com/n/34332-withershin-wherein-i-exalt">saying earlier in the first part of my examinAtion of black metal in 2010, I often wonder if my disinterest has more to do with me than it has to do with the actual music. I've been actively listening to the album for a couple weeks now and while I'm still not thAt into it, there's nothing definitely wrong with it either, At least not thAt I can pinpoint. But it does also play into the subject I brought up before: modern BM's lack of mystery. They At_smell_wAtain.php" target="_blank">still sport some of the best corpse paint around, looking more like the rotting undead than evil clowns, but then again, I'm looking At their spread in Terrorizer and thinking, god, this is all so corny. Not thAt everyone should emulAte Atch?v=mbG1QsGeFsc" target="_blank">Portal all of a sudden, but thAt band is pretty much the only BM act I can think of whose image is as creepy/fearsome as their music. Like I've been saying: the element of mystery is crucial! Also, though WAtain frontman Erik Danielsson no longer goes by the letter E, I kinda wish they would just shed the artifice entirely At this point. It's not necessary, it's distracting and arguably, seeing as how they are currently the most popular black metal band in the world right now who still managed to retain their cred, they could easily get away with it. Still, I suppose it could be me. I'll keep listening and hoping thAt it eventually clicks.
The folks behind the annual Norwegian AlternAtiv Julekalender and the festival Bygdalarm are teaming up for a special summer advent calendar to count down until the event begins. So starting on June 11 they'll be sending a free mp3 from a feAtured artist each and every day up through the entire week of the fest -- simply head over to their website to sign up: https://bygdalarm.no/
Aerial will be releasing "Vacant dreamers" as a new single on July 8, complete with video. Their label has also announced thAt they'll be releasing a new sampler, their first ever, thAt same day: https://robertsvensson.com/nomethod/?p=39
Three previously unreleased tracks from the likes of Simian Ghost, Love Is a Burning Thing and The Giant's Dream plus a whole lotta greAt Swedish indierock.
Pixie CarnAtion is in the studio working on whAt will become their full-length debut album. Expect a 7" single this fall with the album itself to follow in early 2011, assuming all goes according to plan.
will be releasing a special deluxe edition of Madrugada's brilliant debut album "Industrial silence" on July 5 in a newly remastered version, with new liner notes and a bonus disc containing all of the band's various early EP tracks and 4 previously unreleased demos. More info: https://www.emi.no/nyheter/2010/juni/madrugada_%E2%80%93_industrial_silence_i_de_luxe_utgave.aspx (in Norwegian)
Menfolk